so a princess and a pirate walk into a black market auction
by DiscordianSamba
Summary: After Pidge locates an ancient Altean relic, Allura decides they have to have it. The only issue is that it's up on the auction block- the black market auction block. Still, it's not like stealing has ever deterred her first two paladins before... and on this occasion, Allura's not quite so opposed to it herself. (sequel to cosmic dust)
1. part one

So! This work! It's a follow-up/sequel to one of my previous stories, cosmic dust, and you probably should read that before reading this one, otherwise there's definitely going to be stuff that won't make sense. (I say, like cosmic dust isn't thirty-five chapters long, lol.) Anyways, I had planned to just write this as a straight oneshot, but as I wrote, I realized that splitting it up into two parts would make more sense, and so here I am with part one! Part two will be forthcoming, so stay tuned for that!

As always, thanks for reading, and until next time!

* * *

**so a princess and a pirate walk into a black market auction**

**part one**

* * *

"Allura, you _need _to see this."

Allura could only blink, having not quite expected Pidge to storm the bridge and shove her computing device right in her face. She was holding the screen so close that she could barely even make out what it was that she wanted her to see in the first place.

"Pidge, I don't think she can see anything with your laptop shoved into her face like that." Keith pointed out, barely even sparing them a glance. He likely didn't need to, to know what she was doing- they had been partners in (quite literal) crime for some time and shared a deep bond as the arms of Voltron.

"Oops." Pidge said, pulling her laptop away from her face. "Guess I just got a little overexcited."

"Did you find a lead on your father?" Shiro asked, glancing back towards them from his post at the front of the bridge. He had been adjusting to life on the Castle well, and there seemed to be no obvious ill effects from his time as Haggar's Champion- nothing that made him a danger, at any rate.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much she could do about nightmares.

It was just the three of them on the bridge at the moment- or _four_, now that Pidge had joined them. Lance wasn't one to spend his spare time on the bridge, and Coran had recruited both Matt and Hunk to help with general repairs. Now that the Castle was in frequent use, they kept finding new things to fix, which hardly came as much of a surprise- however well constructed, it _was _still over ten thousand years old. It was bound to have suffered a bit after centuries of neglect.

Thace had actually been here too, up until a few doboshes ago, when he had left to send his regular report to his superior in the Blade. Ulaz had briefly returned to the Castle a quintant or so after leaving to report back, but all he had been able to tell them was that he'd been given orders to tell Thace to stay. Whoever it was that was in charge of the Blade of Marmora, they didn't seem inclined to trust outsiders.

It was frustrating, but she knew there wasn't much she could do but wait. Ulaz was positive that with time, they would come around. Until then, they had other allies- Te-Osh and her band of rebels had proven instrumental in helping them acquire the supplies they needed, and kept them frequently informed of Galran activity.

"I _wish_." Pidge said. "But I did find something that might interest Allura- and maybe even help Keith."

That Keith _did _perk up at, though he tried not to make it too obvious. While it had only been a mere two movements since the paladins had been able to successfully form Voltron for the first time, but she'd spent those two movements going over what data they had on Keith until she'd memorized nearly every word of it. Unfortunately, not only was the data incomplete, there also simply wasn't much she could do. Her abilities as an alchemist were limited, and a half-hearted attempt might only make things worse than they already were.

She wished it were as simple as removing the tainted Balmeran crystal from his heart, but it was not. Haggar had truly done a number on him- not only was it so deeply fused with his heart that removal was impossible, it would likely kill him should she even try.

"So?" Allura asked. "What did you find?"

"I've been keeping tabs on the black market for awhile now, and I found something that looks almost Altean." Pidge told her. "I mean, I don't know if it would be useful or not, but I figured I should probably show you."

"Altean?" Allura asked, narrowing her eyes. "Show me."

Pidge nodded, holding the laptop a bit closer- though thankfully not in her face this time. Studying the image onscreen, Allura took a few ticks to place it- the image was grainy, and frankly not the best quality. It looked as if whoever had taken the picture didn't have permission to be there, and so they had done so in a hurry. Still, she did recognize the item in question.

"It's a memory orb."

"A memory _what_?" Keith asked.

"A memory orb." Allura repeated. "It was used on Altea to store vast quantities of information on various subjects."

"Like a book?" Shiro asked, making his way towards them.

"What is a _book_?" Allura asked.

"You know what, it doesn't matter." Pidge said. "Do you think you could use this _memory orb_ thing to help Keith?"

"I can't say for certain one way or another." Allura frowned. "I'd have to know what was on it."

"Any chance you could find that out, Pidge?" Shiro asked, peeking at the screen himself.

Pidge just snorted. "Not likely. I don't even think these guys know what they're selling, other than the fact that its Altean."

"Can I see that?" Keith asked, getting up from his chair, pausing to crack the joints in his neck as he did so. It was to her understanding that was a human trait- she'd caught Lance and Pidge doing much the same with their fingers. It always sounded so unpleasant, a reminder of how alien her paladins still were to her.

Though she supposed to them, _she _was the alien.

"Sure." Pidge said, passing her laptop over to Keith. He scanned it carefully, the edges of his lips tugging downwards.

"Pidge, this isn't _just _a black market good." Keith said. "It's a black market _auction _good."

"Auction?" Allura blinked. "What do you mean, _auction_?"

"Did they not have auctions on Altea either?" Keith asked, his gaze briefly flicking her way. The bags underneath his eyes had gotten slightly less severe thanks to the device Coran had given him, but while it helped, there was still no true substitute for actual sleep.

"They did." Allura said, a tight frown on her face. She wasn't sure she liked the idea of a piece of her people's history being auctioned off to the highest bidder. "Only I can't imagine why anyone would want to auction off a _memory orb_, of all things. I was under the impression that barely anyone can even _read _Altean these days."

"Like I said, they probably don't know what it is." Pidge shrugged. "Altean goods are a rare commodity in the black market. They crop up every now and again in underground auctions like this one and always fetch a high price. Doesn't matter what they actually are."

Allura's frown only deepened. While part of her was glad that there were apparently pieces of her people's history that had survived the destruction of Altea, the thought that there were people out there who collected it disgusted her to no end. Her people deserved more than to be reduced to merely being a source of interesting relics from the past.

"How exactly do these black market auctions work?" Shiro asked. "I feel like I've heard of them before, but it's still pretty fuzzy in places."

Keith's gaze briefly flicked in Shiro's direction, a sympathetic look flashing through his eyes. Shiro's memories from his time as Haggar's Champion had proven useful in helping them steer clear of any Galra outposts until they managed to find their footing, but she knew how badly they haunted him. Even if he hadn't been in control of his actions, he'd still done terrible things in the name of the Galra Empire, and that wasn't something he could forgive himself for.

"Typically they hold them on private ships." Keith said. "Invitation only."

"You used a code to get into the black market when we went." Allura said. "Is it anything like that?"

Keith shook his head. "This is more of a fancy rich people thing."

"A fancy _morally bankrupt_ rich people thing." Pidge said.

"Yeah?" Keith frowned, staring at her strangely. "That's what I said?"

Pidge just shrugged. "Fair enough."

"Back to the subject of the auction," Shiro began, "-how does one go about getting an invitation?"

Keith turned his gaze towards Shiro, his frown deepening. "You can't be thinking of going? We don't even know if it'll help."

Shiro just shrugged. "It can't hurt. Better to put it in Allura's hands than let some greedy collector have it."

"Well, _yeah_, but..." Keith trailed off, his lips twisting into a frown. "Not everyone there is exactly friendly to the rebels. Most of them make their money _off _the war."

Allura's expression darkened. "In that case, I would very much like to ensure the memory orb falls into the right hands."

"Yeah, I thought you would have been excited for another chance at piracy." Pidge said. "Nothing like robbing a sketchy black market auction ship to get back into the thick of things."

Shiro frowned in mild disapproval. "I don't know if we need to resort to piracy just yet, Pidge."

"Shiro's right." Allura said. "If this is an auction, all we need to do is outbid any other interested parties."

"And waste most of our GAC on one big ticket purchase?" Keith asked, arching a brow.

"Keith's got a point." Pidge said. "We've still got a bunch of stolen Galra goods we could sell for more, but we're both pretty hot right now. I'm not sure anyone's going to want to buy from us for awhile. We need to preserve the GAC we have for when we really need it."

Shiro just sighed. "I hate to admit it, but that is a good point. Still, I don't know if the paladins of Voltron should really be robbing ships, even if they _are _full of illegally gained goods. It's not exactly a great look."

"It doesn't have to be the paladins." Pidge said. "Keith and I can handle it."

"Actually," Allura interjected, "-I would like to go with you. If there's one Altean artifact, there may be more. I would like to ensure that none of them fall into the wrong hands."

"And I don't like the idea of the three of you going alone." Shiro added.

Pidge and Keith exchanged a glance, before the latter shrugged. "I mean... I guess that makes sense. But like I said, a lot of these people are pretty friendly to the Galra Empire. We shouldn't exactly expect a warm welcome."

Pidge just snorted. "Since when have we _ever _gotten a warm welcome?"

Keith just rolled his eyes, a curious behavioral tic that must have been leftover from when he looked more human. "You know what I mean. We're not exactly unrecognizable."

"In that case," Allura said, a slightly sly smile gracing her lips, "-we shall just have to disguise ourselves."

* * *

"Princess, are you sure about this?"

"I'm sure, Coran." Allura gave the man a smile. "I cannot simply stand by while a piece of our planet is sold off to the highest bidder. With any luck, it may even contain alchemical knowledge that we need to help Keith."

And bring her a little closer to her father, she couldn't help but think.

Coran just heaved a sigh, knowing better than to argue with her. "Promise me you'll at least be careful. This auction ship sounds like a dangerous place."

"I'll be just fine, Coran." Allura assured him. "And how dangerous can it be? Weapons aren't even allowed on the ship."

At least, according to what Pidge and Keith had told her, that was one of the rules. Although the pair seemed to deal almost exclusively in the more traditional black markets, as opposed to the auctions, they still knew a fair bit about the auction ships. Apparently they'd tossed around raiding one a few times before, but had decided against it- the normal smash and grab methods that they had perfected against Galra cruisers wouldn't necessarily translate as well to ships specifically designed to deter theft. They would have to think a bit more creatively if they were going to meet their objective.

Fortunately, thanks to Pidge, it didn't seem as if they would have any trouble in actually getting onboard. Not only had she been able to locate the flight path of the auction ship in question, as well as when and where said auction would actually take place, she had also been able to get into the ship's first layer of security- not enough to get any real information about the ship or the items up for auction, but more than enough to add their names to the guest list. Not their _real _names of course- Pidge had come up with aliases- but it would at least get their foot in the door.

(Although... she did have to question her choice in aliases. Akira was fine, but _Fala_? Who in the world was named _Fala_?)

From the sound of it, the auction was a masquerade type affair, which worked conveniently in their favor. She wouldn't even need to try and hide her Altean marks.

"Oh, you shouldn't underestimate these places." Coran wagged a finger. "A few existed in your father's day, and they were never good news."

"Well, if anything _does _go wrong, I'll have the Voltron paladins to come to my rescue." Allura said with a slight smile. "Besides, Keith will be with me."

It had taken considerable back and forth, but in the end, it was decided that the two of them would be the only ones to actually board the ship. Shiro's arm simply made him too recognizable, and Pidge's task could be done remotely. While it was true that getting past anything beyond the ship's first layer of security would require physically being on the ship, the real thing that mattered was having an access point- and in this case, her earrings would more than suffice. Using them, Pidge would be able to link into the auction ship's systems, get past security, and gather all the data they needed to make their mission a success.

There were other reasons of course, but in the end it had really come down to who would be best suited for an environment in which weapons were not allowed. She, of course, had her Altean strength. And despite Keith's habit of concealing knives nearly everywhere he could on his person, he was also quite strong, thanks in equal part to his Galran blood and Haggar's experimentation.

There was, of course, his ability to drain quintessence, but with any luck they wouldn't have to use it. She had been attempting to teach him how to better control it, but thus far they hadn't had much success. Fortunately, it would seem that his bond with the red lion helped keep it under control, making it unlikely to ever become a problem.

As for Hunk and Lance, they would be on standby in their lions, just in case things went significantly wrong. She didn't expect them to, however- it was hardly as if they were going into this without a plan.

So long as they stuck to it, everything should go just fine.

"Now," Allura said, turning towards her wardrobe with a slight frown, "-help me find something that doesn't scream _Altean_."

* * *

"Keith, I know I can't talk you out of this-"

"Then don't."

Keith winced, his reply coming out a lot more snappish than he'd intended. Glancing apologetically towards Shiro, he dialed it back a little. The last thing he wanted was to get into a fight with his brother so soon after they had been reunited.

"Sorry." He apologized. "But I can handle this."

"And I don't doubt you can." Shiro said, looking unbothered by his earlier sharp remark. "But you're my brother, and I worry about you."

"Thanks." Keith smiled, trying to pretend like his heart hadn't leaped at the statement. "But seriously. I've got this."

Shiro just huffed, reaching out to ruffle his hair with his still human hand. He just barely ducked out of the way in time, defending the top of his head with his hands. "Shiro! I didn't sit through twenty minutes of Lance complaining to have you mess up my hair!"

Shiro just snorted, but still withdrew his hand, holding them both up as if in surrender. "I'm just amazed you even let him touch it."

"Well, it was either Lance or Coran." Keith said, checking to make sure the braids Lance had twined into his hair hadn't been disturbed. "And I've seen Coran's interpretation of food. I'm not sure I want to find out firsthand what Altean hairstyles are like."

He still felt a little silly about it, but combined with a mask and some quick set, easy to wash out purple hair coloring, it would suffice as a disguise. He'd be acting as Allura's bodyguard- the hired help, in other words- so he doubted anyone would spare so much as a second glance at him. There were plenty of half-Galra who sold their services as mercenaries and bodyguards, he'd just get passed off as one of their number.

In any case, it was way easier than trying to pass him off as nobility.

"Solid point." Shiro said. "So, think you can handle around being a bunch of rich people?"

Keith made a face. "As long as I get to steal from them, I'll be just fine."

"I should probably scold you for that," Shiro shrugged, "- but I feel like the damage has already been done."

"Once a pirate, always a pirate." Keith grinned.

"I still can't believe you became a _space pirate_." Shiro pretended to scold, but his slight laugh gave him away. "How am I supposed to explain _that _to our parents?"

"You mean _your _parents." Keith said, a slight frown touching the edge of his lips. He'd always viewed Shiro as his brother, but he'd never quite known where he stood with his actual _parents_\- he'd never gotten the chance to know them that well before he'd started living at the Garrison. He knew it was Shiro's idea for them to foster him in the first place, and that they'd agreed to it, but he'd never known if they actually viewed him as one of their own or not.

He guessed he might never know.

"Besides," Keith said, quickly changing the topic, "-I think you'll have your hands full just trying to explain your arm."

Shiro glanced down at it, balling his right hand into a fist. "Also a solid point."

Keith opened his mouth to ask how he was handling it, but didn't get the chance before the doors to the green lion's hangar opened, admitting Pidge and Matt. Quickly shutting his mouth, he ducked his head, looking away. It had been two weeks since Shiro had been freed from Haggar's clutches, but they still hadn't had a real talk about what either of them had suffered at her hands.

He just... wasn't ready for it.

"Are we interrupting something?" Matt asked, glancing between the two.

"No." Keith said quickly. "Are we ready to go?"

"As soon as Allura gets here, yeah." Pidge said, looking around with a slight frown. "Where _is _she?"

"Probably still getting ready." Keith shrugged.

"I'm sure she'll be here soon." Shiro said. "It probably takes her a little longer."

"I mean, she _is _a princess." Matt said with a shrug.

"What does being a princess have to do with anything?" Keith asked with a frown.

"Yes, Matt," Allura's voice chimed in from just beyond them, "-I would love to know the answer to that as well."

Matt flinched, whirling on his heel to face Allura. Just like she had on Earth, she'd used her chameleon-like ability to change the color of her hair, now a rich shade of brown and worn in a single braid. She wore a dress that kind of reminded him of the color of pine needles, and for a moment, his thoughts were elsewhere, back on the camping trip his dad had taken him on just before he'd started school. They'd gone to a forest campsite, and...

He shook the memory away. Even after all this time, thinking about his dad was still too painful for him. He'd never had the time to actually process the grief he felt over his death, too busy just trying to _survive_\- when it wasn't an abusive foster home, it was the clutches of an evil space witch. He wondered what he'd think of him and the path he'd chosen to take.

He hoped he'd be proud of him becoming a paladin, at least.

Allura caught him looking. "Do you like it? I wore it to the bonding ceremony of Trigel's niece. We had to make a few quick adjustments to make it fit, but at the very least, it doesn't scream _Altean_."

"It's... fine?" Keith just shrugged. "I don't exactly know that much about fashion."

If Lance were here, he'd probably take the time to point out just how obvious that was. He was still sort of having trouble getting along with the blue paladin, despite his best efforts. It didn't keep them from working together, but he'd like a little something more from their working relationship than just barely tolerating each other. He didn't get it- he was getting along pretty well with Hunk, so why was he having such a tough time befriending _Lance_?

Then again, he had agreed to help them, but that might have just been for Allura's sake. He did spend the entire time whining about the fact that it wasn't _him _who was going with her.

"I'm just amazed you got Keith to part from that jacket." Pidge observed, glancing over towards Shiro. "He's had that thing since he crash landed on Earth."

"Hey," Keith frowned, shooting Pidge a look, "-I _like _that jacket."

"Paladins." Allura cleared her throat, before glancing towards Shiro. "I trust there were no issues in arranging things?"

"I got everything you requested ready for you in the green lion's cargo hold. Thace was more than happy to help." Shiro said, before glancing at Pidge. "Are you sure this will work?"

"I mean, it _should_." Pidge shrugged. "I've tested the cloaking dozens of times, so I don't see any reason why it _shouldn't_. And it's not like we have any ships lying around that scream _rich intergalactic heiress_. Sneaking them aboard the ship using the green lion is our best option."

"Shiro's just worried about his baby brother." Matt teased.

"I mean, it's kind of my job." Shiro shrugged.

Keith just snorted. He wasn't even going to say anything against it, not when he was this glad to be reunited with Shiro again after so long. And to think, he'd actually been _afraid _of what he would think of him now that he looked so Galra- he should have listened to Matt and Pidge, and realized that there had never been anything to worry about.

He'd never been happier to be _wrong _about something.

Pidge was clearly thinking the same thing, because she caught his eye, giving him a nudge. He just rolled his eyes, huffing slightly. Just because she was right, didn't give her the right to rub it in.

"In that case, we should make haste." Allura said. "We only have a small window of opportunity in which to get onboard, and I do not want to miss it."

"Just remember, if anything goes wrong, you have a direct link to me and Pidge, but be careful regardless." Shiro said. "And try not to attract attention."

Keith just grinned. "Since when have I ever attracted attention?"

Shiro just arched a brow, but decided- wisely- not to say anything in response.

* * *

"Nervous?"

Allura glanced over towards Keith, frowning slightly at his tone. "This is hardly my first time jumping out of a moving ship."

Keith just arched a brow, more amused than anything else. "Doesn't exactly sound like something your average princess does regularly."

"Well we can't _all _be space pirates." Allura said.

"Funny," a faint grin touched Keith's lips, "-because I'm pretty sure what we're about to do is the very definition of space piracy."

Allura just huffed, forced to admit he had a point. "All we need to do is go after whoever wins the bid on the memory orb and take it from them. I'd say that's more like a mugging than anything actually resembling piracy."

Still a crime, she supposed, but a lesser one. That orb belonged to the Altean people anyways- it was her right to restore it to them, even if that only amounted to her and Coran now.

"Eh," Keith shrugged, "-close enough."

In spite of herself, Allura let a faint smile tug at the edge of her lips. She wondered what her father would think if she saw her now- before she decided he would likely approve. He'd always been something of an eccentric, at times hardly acting like the king and diplomat he actually was, even well into his old age. According to both Coran and her mother, he'd been even wilder in his youth, but had mellowed out somewhat with age, especially once he had taken the throne.

She wished he was here. Mother, too. She missed them both dearly.

"Alright," Pidge's voice came over the coms, "-we're about to reach the drop point. Cloaking is active so they won't be able to see us, but all bets are off once you jump."

"Let's just hope the two of us are small enough that we pass for space debris." Keith remarked, grimacing at the thought of what would surely happen if they didn't.

Allura nodded, double checking her helmet to confirm that it was securely in place. It had been awhile since she had used one of the bulkier pressure suits they had in the Castle's stores- they weren't exactly comfortable, but they _were _perfect for wearing over almost any type of clothing. Plus, unlike the one she typically wore, these had jet packs installed- which thanks to Thace, had been given an extra boost, enough to ensure that they would be able to make it to their target without any issues.

Of course, that was only so long as they remained undetected.

"Let's hope."

* * *

Thankfully, she needn't have worried.

They made it onto the ship just fine, slipping into an unused corridor using the cracking tool that Thace had provided them with. Apparently the Blades used it to sneak aboard Galra cruisers, but it worked just fine on the very non-Galra ship. Although she hadn't gotten much of a chance to study the actual auction ship itself before they'd landed on it, she'd seen enough to tell that it was needlessly luxurious.

The inside of the ship only served to confirm that notion.

"Wow," Keith said, crinkling his nose, "-I hate it."

She had to concur. Much like the Castle, the walls of the auction ship were a stark white- but unlike the Castle, the trim was done in a much more ornate fashion, making use of a glistening golden metal that had to be worth a small fortune just on its own. The doors were adorned with intricate patterns of the same metal, and she was positive that there were real gemstones thrown into the mix as well.

And this was just an _empty hallway_. She couldn't even begin to imagine what the rest of the ship looked like.

"This is why I hate rich people." Keith muttered underneath his breath, and then, louder, "Pidge?"

"Just give me a few ticks." Pidge said. "And... okay. I'm in."

Removing her helmet, Allura let out a long breath. "Glad to hear it. Can you find us a place to store our suits?"

"First door on your left." Pidge said. "Looks like some kind of storage closet."

"Copy that." Keith said, tugging off his own helmet, already starting to shed the pressure suit. "Just glad to get this stupid thing off."

Allura cracked a smile, opening the door to the storage closet. It was strange to think there was a time when she had been _wary _of Keith. To be fair, it had mostly been due to the fact that his quintessence was so... _odd_, that she'd found it difficult to be fully comfortable in his presence, but now that she knew the reason for that, it had become much simpler. The reason was horrid, of course- but that was hardly Keith's fault, just as it was hardly Shiro's fault that Haggar had broken him and remade him into the Champion.

Neither of them had wanted it. It was done _to _them.

She paused to check and make sure that her hair and clothes had survived the trip, before she turned back towards Keith. He had less to worry about in terms of clothes- the hastily altered armor he wore was difficult to mess up, after all. It pained her to see any traces of its connection to Altea stripped from it, but she'd rather avoid exposing herself as Altean. Pidge and Keith were adamant that people here were no allies of the rebellion, and they would know best. She didn't want to risk putting them all in danger for her own selfish desires.

Which was, ultimately, what this all boiled down to.

"Ready?" Allura asked.

"As I'll ever be." Keith huffed. "Do you have the masks?"

"Right here." Allura said, producing them from one of her sleeves. Keith just arched a brow, before taking the less ornate one, though both were actually rather plain. Coran had designed them in a hurry, after all. They were both half masks, only meant to cover the upper half of their face, held in place by a single string.

"Well," Keith said, tugging it on over his head, "-let's get this over with."

"Not very enthusiastic, are you?" Allura asked. "I would have thought you would have been more excited."

Though whether she meant that as him being excited to have a chance to engage in piracy again, or over the prospect of retrieving something that might help undo the damage Haggar had done to him, she couldn't say. While she had gotten to know Keith a fair bit better, he wasn't always the easiest person to read. She'd yet to pick up the knack for it that both Pidge and Shiro possessed- but then again, she supposed they had also known him for quite some time. She, on the other hand, had only known him for little over a phoeb.

"I just don't like these kinds of places." Keith said with a frown.

Fair enough, she supposed. She'd seen Keith's childhood home in the desert, or at least, what remained of it. He likely hadn't grown up with much.

"Just follow my lead, and we will be just fine." Allura spared him a smile. "Besides, if all goes according to plan, you will get to," she paused, trying to recall the Earthling phrase Pidge had used, "-_beat up_ at least one of them."

Keith snorted, finally cracking a smile. "Now that sounds like more fun."

* * *

Pidge's work, as always, proved flawless.

There were no complications getting into the actual auction hall- barely anyone spared them so much as a second glance. At most, Keith had been given a cursory check for weapons, but once it was established that he didn't have any on his person, they allowed them into the hall without any further fuss. Her earrings didn't even get so much as a single glance.

They still opted to take a seat in the back, towards the doors, just in case, but it didn't appear as if there would be any issues. It _also _had the added benefit of allowing them to see everyone in the hall. Both she and Keith did a quick scan of the crowd, mentally mapping out everyone's positions. Thankfully, the auction wasn't a silent one, which would mean they would be able to keep track of who won what. Granted, even if it _were _a silent auction, Pidge had a contingency plan for that, especially now that she was in control of the auction ship's systems.

Theoretically, they could have simply cut off the ship's engines and shut down the security, but she'd opted for a plan that was a little more... well, low key than that. With Pidge and Keith's reputations, it would be inevitable that Voltron would at least be _somewhat _associated with space piracy, but it wasn't exactly an image she wanted to actively _encourage_.

The paladins were supposed to be a symbol of _hope_, and unfortunately, that wasn't quite the image that space pirates manifested, even ones who stole exclusively from the Galra. Not that there was anything _wrong _with Keith and Pidge being former pirates. It was just... others might not see it that way.

But that was an issue for another time.

Turning her attention towards the stage, Allura set her lips in a thin line. The longer she spent here, the more she understood why Keith didn't like it. Everywhere she looked, there were ostentatious display of wealth- be it in the auction ship's decor, or in the very clothing and accessories the bidders wore. When compared to the state of the rest of the universe, the sight of this much visible wealth in one place made her stomach turn.

True, she liked sparkly things herself, and as a princess, she was accustomed to living a life of privilege- but the idea of making oneself richer while the rest of the universe suffered did _not _sit well with her.

"You okay?"

"Yes." Sparing Keith a glance, Allura merely frowned. "I just think I understand your disdain somewhat better now."

Keith didn't say anything to that, just turned back to the stage. She turned her gaze back towards it too, waiting with baited breath for the auction to finally begin.

Thankfully, it started quickly. She kept her attention on the stage, waiting for the memory orb to be brought out. Every now and again she raised the card she had been given, so that it didn't look suspicious that she was placing no bids, but she never seriously angled for anything. Some of the items on display churned her stomach- though they weren't Altean, she still recognized a few of them as being relics sacred to other cultures she'd known growing up, all of which had presumably been since conquered by the Galra.

And these people were just bidding on them like it was _nothing_.

She wished they could just take all of it and return them to their rightful people- but she knew reasonably that they couldn't- not yet. It only gave her more drive to ensure Voltron's success- she might not be a paladin, but as the only one who could fly the Castle, she could contribute in her own way. They would have to begin freeing planets and taking out Galra outposts sooner rather than later if _this _was the condition of the universe.

And these were just _items_. She couldn't imagine how many actual _lives _the Galra Empire's greed had stolen.

"Now, ladies and gentleman, we have something _truly _special for you all."

Allura felt herself tense. She didn't need Pidge's whispered comment that the memory orb was up on the auction block next- she could see that much for herself.

There it sat, carried out on a velvet pillow. She had seen them countless times, dealt with them countless times- there were even several in the Castle, though none of them contained the knowledge that she sought. She didn't understand why her father hadn't left her one- unless he had, and it had been stored with her cryopod instead of the Castle.

In that case, it might have very well fallen into the hands of the Empire.

She tried not to think about that, instead focusing on the task at hand. Her gaze scanned the auction hall, and she caught Keith doing very much the same- before they caught each others eye. He jerked his head to the left. She nodded, motioning towards the right with her own, and they each looked in their own self-selected direction, all while keeping an eye on the center row in which they sat. She didn't want to miss the winning bidder.

She listened to the auctioneer prattle on a bunch of nonsense about the memory orb, making it transparently clear he didn't know what it was. Then finally, the bidding began. Just like Pidge had said, it appeared that the orb's Altean origins made it a desired commodity, but the herd quickly thinned out until it was down to just two bidders- a blue-skinned woman with horns, and a rather square gentleman whose build was large enough that he didn't quite fit in his seat. They were both determined to obtain the orb, but in the end, the man simply had the more money.

"Guess that's our mark." Keith muttered underneath his breath, the edge of a smirk gracing his lips.

"So it would seem." Allura said, taking in the size of the man. He wouldn't be an easy opponent to defeat, but between the two of them, she was almost positive they could manage it. She had been well trained, and while Keith wasn't necessarily _trained_, he fought with all the ferocity one might expect from one of Galra lineage.

"Looks like there's only two or three more items to go." Pidge's whispered over the coms. "It should be over so-"

Pidge cut herself short, her breath audibly hitching in her throat. Before Allura even had the chance to inquire, the answer presented itself. By her side, she could feel Keith tense.

"We have another rare item on the auction block tonight, ladies and gentleman." The auctioneer announced. "The item in question comes from a remote, primitive planet at the edge of space- but don't let that fool you. The workmanship is not to be underestimated."

The item was small enough that a blown up image had to be used in order to properly show it to the would-be bidders. It was a simple gold band, etched with a pattern of stars and vines, a glittering green stone set in the center that she knew for a fact was called an _emerald_.

She knew, because she'd seen one just like it on Colleen Holt's ring finger. It was part of a matching pair. A wedding ring.

"That," Pidge said slowly, her voice caught somewhere between horror and _fury_, before settling on the latter, "-belongs to my father."


	2. part two

What's up, have an update. I know it's been awhile, but I promise my VLD fics aren't dead, so I would kind of appreciate if people would stop asking me about them. This is just the price you have to pay for reading fic by an author with a one two punch of autism and ADD and to be frank, the updating speed I previously had just was not and never was going to be sustainable. So, that said, have this! This fic was planned to be just two parts at first but now it's three parts so the next update will be the conclusion. I'll probably write that after I finish the next updates of both my ATLA fics so look forward to that I guess?

(No hard promises though.)

Hope y'all are okay in these trying times. Wash your hands! Stay home!

* * *

**so a princess and a pirate walk into a black market auction**

**part two**

* * *

"That ring belongs to my father."

At the same time a deep fury rose up within him, Keith felt his stomach drop. The implications of something belonging to Pidge's father being here weren't lost on him- and from the sound of it, Pidge knew it too. There was no way to verify if the worst case scenario had actually happened, but one thing, at least, was crystal clear.

"We have to get that ring."

Keith blinked, turning to look at Allura, who did the same, her masked gaze meeting that of his own. He hadn't expected the princess to say anything, much less mirror him word for word. They were only here for the Altean memory orb and deviating from the plan even just a little could expose them to unnecessary risks and put them all in danger. He was certain that would be the princess' take on it.

Guess he'd been wrong.

"Wait, you're _agreeing_?" Keith asked in disbelief, by some miracle remembering to keep his voice down.

Allura frowned, her nose crinkling in vague offense. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I?"

Keith couldn't think of a response to that that didn't sound terrible, so he wisely kept his mouth shut. Allura merely arched a brow- but if she knew what he had been thinking, she was clearly not choosing to make a big deal about it. Instead she fixed her gaze back on the auction stage, and abruptly, he realized he'd lost focus on the auction. Snapping his attention back towards the stage, he was relieved to realize that while the bidding had already begun, it was also still ongoing. The ring was garnering a significant amount of interest, though unfortunately, the alien who had won the memory orb didn't seem to be biting. He'd been hoping that they could kill two birds with one stone, but from the looks of it, they didn't have that option.

"We will most likely have to split up." Allura observed. "Thankfully, both the ring and the memory orb are relatively small items. Taking them back shouldn't prove too difficult."

"You hearing this, Pidge?" Keith asked. "We're going to get your dad's ring back."

"Copy that." Pidge said, her tone almost unreadable. "I'm trying to see if I can track down any information on how the ring got here. Maybe I can use it to find dad."

_If he was still alive_.

Grimacing, Keith decided to keep that thought to himself. No need to say out loud something Pidge had probably already realized herself. She might not have the same kind of first hand experience that he had with Galra captivity, but she knew enough to know that the odds were far from the best. If anything, they'd been lucky so far. They'd found both Matt and Shiro without even really having to look for them.

And if having one of the three missing Kerberos crew turn up as a brainwashed super soldier trying to kill them was considered _lucky_, then he hated to consider what was _un_lucky.

"Good," Allura said, "-hopefully your search will turn up something."

There was an undercurrent of sympathy and understanding in the princess' voice, though she chose not to say anything. Sparing a glance in her direction, he couldn't help but remember that she'd lost her father to the Galra too- only she could never get hers back.

(There was a pain he was all too familiar with.)

"I'll try and track the origins of the memory orb while I'm at it." Pidge said. "Looks like it might take some time, though. They're keeping their supplier data under some pretty tight security, to the surprise of no one."

A faint smile graced the edge of Allura's lips. "Thank you, Pidge."

Keith frowned, sparing a second more to watch the princess, before he turned back to the rest of the auction hall. The number of bidders had been steadily thinning- now there were only two left who were going for the ring. One of them was a tall, horned alien with four arms and the other had far too many eyes for him to be entirely comfortable with. It had been a long time since he'd felt out of place in deep space, but right now he couldn't help but feel positively _human_.

He also felt positively _poor_, but that was nothing new. And here he thought that he and Pidge had amassed a small fortune in GAC. Clearly, he'd been wrong.

"And the lot goes to-"

Snapping his head up, Keith quickly broke off that line of thought just in time to catch which of the aliens still had their cards up. It was the tall horned one- just their luck it would be the one who looked a lot harder to take in a fight. The blocky alien that had won the memory orb didn't look that easy to take down either, and he was willing to bet that every last one of them had bodyguards.

Well. No one ever said being a space pirate was easy.

(Or a _paladin_, for that matter.)

"Looks as if we have our targets." Allura whispered, barely so much as sparing a glance in his direction. Her gaze was too fixed on the blocky alien that had won the memory orb.

Keith nodded. "I'll take the one that got Commander Holt's ring."

"Actually," Allura almost hesitated to speak, before apparently getting past whatever hang ups she had, "-I think perhaps I should go after that one."

Keith blinked, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. "What do you mean?"

He was certain she'd want to get the memory orb herself, given how important it was to her. If Pidge were here, he knew that she would probably be chomping at the bit to get her dad's ring back herself. He didn't know Matt as well, but he figured

"I mean that we will likely have a better chance at having cooler heads if we go after the item we are less personally invested in." Allura explained. "It might make our chances of success a bit higher."

Keith bit his lip, considering it. It made sense, but...

"There's no need for concern," Allura gave him a small smile, as if reading his mind, "-I hardly intend to let them slip away with something that's so important to both Pidge and Matt."

"And of course," she added, briefly meeting his eyes, "-I trust you to do the same."

Keith blinked, then cracked a faint smile. "You can count on it."

Allura simply smiled back- there was no hint of strain to it, like there had been in the early days. It was strange to think how quickly things had changed since he and Pidge had picked up that mission from the resistance. Not only did he have Shiro back now, he was also a _paladin_\- Haggar's experimentation and all.

It was almost enough to let him believe that there was no other shoe. That there was nothing that could change his situation for the worse.

(_Almost_.)

* * *

"Yours have bodyguards?"

Briefly sparing a glance at Keith, Allura made a slight face. "So it would seem. Does yours as well?"

With the auction now over, they had all gathered outside of the hall, waiting for the distribution of goods to begin. She had tracked her target out of the hall, watching as he fell into a group with what surely must have been his bodyguards, based on the way they were dressed. She couldn't tell by their armor their affiliation, so she simply assumed that they must have been mercenaries, or perhaps some sort of private guard.

In fact, many of the bodyguards gathered here seemed to be of the same ilk. She supposed that with nearly the entire universe at war, business was booming. It was a grim thought, though not nearly as grim as the fact that there were people profiting off cultural relics belonging to destroyed races.

She tried not to dwell too long on the fact that Altea was one of them.

"Yup," Keith said, "-two of them. Guess that's just our luck."

Allura hummed slightly, before she, with a hint of mischief in her voice, said, "-mine has three."

Keith quirked a brow, his gaze briefly flickering over towards her. "Didn't realize this was a competition."

Quirking the edge of her lips upwards, she managed to otherwise kept her expression perfectly neutral. "I never said anything about that."

Keith huffed. It was a soft, quiet sound, the kind one might miss if they weren't already listening for it.

She let her smile grow a little wider.

"Sorry to interrupt," there was an almost relieving hint of mirth to Pidge's voice as she cut in, "-but they should be passing out the goods soon."

Allura nodded, glancing towards the doors of the auction hall. Sure enough, they opened several moments later, a group of what looked to be the auction ship's staff emerging, each laden with various items that had been up for bidding earlier. She twitched a little at the sight of the memory orb, her gaze falling on it almost on instinct- but then forced herself to exhale, searching instead for the ring that belonged to Pidge's father.

For a tick, she failed to see it anywhere, before she turned her attention back towards the tall, four armed alien who had won it. He was being handed a small black box that had to have contained the ring. Sure enough, when he cracked it open, she could just barely make out the green stone glittering under the bright lights of the crowded room.

He had no right to look half as pleased as he did, she thought.

"I have my eyes on the target." Allura reported. "Keith?"

"Same here." Keith said. "Pidge, think you can figure out where their ships are docked?"

"Probably." Pidge said. "Why?"

There was a wicked gleam to Keith's eyes. "These kinds of ships usually have private hangars."

"Private hangars, huh?" She could practically _hear _the grin Pidge made in response. "Sounds to me like the perfect place for an old fashioned ambush."

Keith didn't respond, just smirked, sharp white teeth flashing against pale skin. Suddenly, she could understand why he and Pidge had worked so well together as pirates. But also...

"Good plan." Allura admitted. "This way we won't have to worry about getting anyone else involved."

Keith nodded, shifting slightly on his feet. She couldn't help but wonder if the Galra blood in him was itching for a fight already- or if he was just so annoyed by these people that he couldn't wait to fall back into old habits.

Both, perhaps.

"Okay, I managed to get a lock on both of their ships. Thankfully they keep pretty solid records." Pidge said. "The only problem is that they're both on different sides of the ship. I won't be able to guide you both through."

"I think I might be able to help you there."

Allura blinked, briefly surprised to hear Shiro's voice. He'd been so quiet that she'd nearly forgotten that he was on the line as well. Glancing briefly towards Keith, she couldn't help but wonder what Shiro thought of the fact that Sam Holt's had turned up in a place like this. After all, he had once been his commanding officer, and from the sound of it, the two of them had been somewhat close.

If Keith was thinking the same thing, he didn't let it show. He only smiled, the expression faint enough that she nearly missed it. "Glad to have you on board."

"Hey, it's about time I started pulling my weight around here." Shiro cracked. "Pidge, why don't you send me Allura's route? I can probably manage to guide her through."

Allura frowned, more than a little surprised by the request. She thought for sure he would have wanted to serve as _Keith's _guide, but perhaps things were still a bit awkward between the two of them. They hadn't exactly had the greatest of reunions, after all, and while she was certain that neither of them were the type to hold hard feelings against the other, it was still, well... rather obvious that there were things the two of them simply were avoiding talking about.

"Sure," Pidge said after a slight pause, sounding slightly uncertain, "-I can do that."

"Guess that leaves you and me." Keith said, sounding so indifferent that it only confirmed her suspicions. "Like old times."

"I don't think a month and a half qualifies as _old times_." Pidge quipped.

"Thanks, Pidge." Keith said, before glancing over towards her. "Guess this is where we part ways."

"So it would seem." Allura said. "Good luck."

Keith snorted. "I don't think luck and I are on good terms, but thanks."

She couldn't exactly dispute that. The odds of the Galra managing to find and abduct the only half-Galra child on Earth seemed... well, rather low, to say the least. Not to mention the fact that years later, they had abducted someone he thought of as a brother... it was safe to say that Keith and luck had a rather complicated relationship.

"All the more reason you need it." Allura observed. Glancing towards her target, she noted that he looked as if he were preparing to leave. "I should go."

"Yeah, me too." Keith said, sparing her a quick glance. "And Allura?"

"Yes?"

"Good luck to you too."

In response, Allura only smiled.

* * *

"Make the next right."

Wordlessly nodding, Allura followed Shiro's instructions, turning at the next right. She was more than grateful for the directions. The auction ship had been set up like a labyrinth- likely in an effort to keep thieves out.

Thieves like _her_.

Her lips twitched slightly upwards at the thought. She never thought she would be in this position, but she had to admit, there was something almost _exhilarating _about it. She was starting to understand just why Keith and Pidge enjoyed the space pirate lifestyle so much, and why the latter, at least, had been so eager to jump back into it, if only just this once.

She was _also _starting to understand why Keith didn't like being here.

Looking at the ostentatious golden trim that lined the ship's halls, Allura couldn't help but recall the tiny, ramshackle shack that Keith had guided them to back on Earth. She knew now that it had been his once- and his father's. There had apparently been a house to go with it once, long ago, but the desert must have since taken its toll on his childhood home, leaving only the shack behind. Even then, it was obvious that he hadn't grown up with much- and after the death of his father...

...well, she couldn't imagine things had gotten any easier.

"Next left," Shiro's voice broke into her thoughts, "-the hangar should be just ahead."

"Got it." Allura said. "Thank you, Shiro."

"Hey, I want to see Sam's ring returned as much as anyone else," he said, "-but glad I could help."

Allura's expression darkened somewhat. She'd like to see the ring returned to its proper owner too, but that involved finding him first. She wondered if the Galra even knew the value such a ring had to humans- or if they even cared. Given how much they had stolen from her new paladins already, she somehow doubted it.

"Let us just hope that Pidge is able to find records as to the ring's origins." Allura remarked. "With any luck, this should bring her one step closer to finding him."

If he were even still alive. It was a grim thought, and not necessarily one that she wanted to entertain. Just because _she _would never be able to see her father again, didn't mean that she wanted anyone else to suffer that same pain.

"Let's hope." Shiro said, the hard edge to his voice indicator enough of what he wasn't saying. "It's the door up ahead."

"Got it." Allura said, making the next left.

Indeed, there was a door in front of her- and a rather ornate one at that. She crinkled her nose in distaste even as she pressed her hand against the access panel. Pidge had already rigged the ship's permissions to ensure that there was no place that she and Keith could not access. Sure enough, the door opened with ease, revealing a rather impressive looking shuttle.

An impressive looking shuttle with its own personal pilot.

Containing the rather un-princess-like urge to swear, Allura quickly closed the distance between herself and the man, taking advantage of their shock at someone who was distinctly not their employer entering the hangar. With one swift move, she knocked him unconscious. She didn't want to do him any real harm- he was likely little more than hired hand.

"Just for the record," Allura began, "-a bit of warning next time would be nice."

"Sorry," Shiro apologized, "-Pidge only sent me the route map."

"Whoops," Pidge's voice abruptly cut in, "-my bad."

Allura inwardly winced, wondering how much of her earlier conversation with Shiro she had overheard. She didn't think they had said anything that would have upset her, but this _was _a rather sensitive situation. The last thing she wanted was to make her feel worse.

"Let us just keep this in mind for the future, perhaps." Allura noted. "How long before the target arrives?"

"Shouldn't be much longer." Pidge said, her voice betraying nothing. "He's on his way now."

"And his guards?"

"With him," Pidge said, "-all three of them."

Allura nodded, studying the hangar. If the first thing the target saw upon entering was a strange woman by his ship and his pilot unconscious, he might very well turn tail and run, taking the ring with him and possibly alerting the entire ship of their presence. She couldn't have that happen. Spotting an alcove that looked as if it would hide her well, she scooped up the unconscious pilot and dragged him over to it, tucking him behind it. Then she set herself to the difficult task of waiting.

She wondered how Keith was doing.

"Heads up," Pidge's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, "-you're about to have company."

Allura arched her brow at the odd turn of phrase, but opted to say nothing. Humans did seem to be rather enamored of using strange expressions. She supposed it was just one of the many quirks of their species. Even Keith didn't seem entirely immune- actually, if anything, she suspected he was even _worse _about it than the others. He had used a few figures of speech that had left the rest of the humans baffled...

Shaking the thought off, she turned her attention back towards the doors. She needn't wait long- barely a minute had passed before her target and all three of his bodyguards came through the door, just as promised. She waited, her heart pounding in her chest as they made their way towards their ship...

...and when their backs were completely turned, she attacked.

The first bodyguard was dispatched swiftly, before they even knew what hit them. The second had a few moments in which to mount a counterattack, but Allura easily overpowered them, leaving her with just the target and his final bodyguard, both of whom had since turned to face her. She was suddenly even more grateful that this was a masquerade affair- it wouldn't do if word spread that the princess of Altea was robbing people, however ill-gained their goods were.

"W-who are you?" The four-armed alien had the audacity to demand. "What do you want?"

"The ring you won," Allura did her absolute best to look imposing without actively altering her height, "-hand it over and I won't have to hurt you."

For a second, she almost thought he might agree, before he narrowed his eyes, standing taller as if to mask the fact that he had just been cowering.

"A petty thief, then." He said, signaling to his remaining bodyguard. "I don't know how you got on this ship, but my guard will make sure that you won't be able to leave."

"In that case," Allura brushed off the obvious threat with ease, "-I suggest you prepare yourself for disappointment."

Not giving them any time to react, Allura lunged forward. Unable to defend himself in time, the remaining bodyguard staggered back, reeling from a powerful blow to its cranium. A second strike was all it took to knock him out completely, leaving just the four-armed alien, who she was strongly starting to suspect only _looked _tough.

"Now," Allura's smile was icy as she turned towards him, "-the ring, please."

The four-armed alien took one look at her- and then _ran _for the hangar doors. Sighing slightly, she pursed him at a leisurely pace, well aware that Pidge was now in control of the auction ship's systems. She would have locked the doors as soon as the target and his bodyguard entourage entered, preventing anyone from interfering.

Or escaping.

The four-armed alien, however, didn't know this- and she had to admit, it was a bit satisfying to watch the realization that he was trapped in here with her dawn on his face. She came to a stop behind him, the sound of her heel striking the floor echoing in the large hangar. There was genuine fear in the alien's eyes as he turned to face her, and suddenly, she somewhat understood just why Pidge and Keith had found this line of work so immensely satisfying. A tiny part of her was almost tempted to drag this out- but that just wasn't the sort of person she was. Instead, she quickly and deftly knocked him out, the larger alien crumpling to the floor.

"Well, that takes care of that." Allura said, rummaging through his clothing until she found the ring box. "How are things on your end, Pidge?"

"Smooth sailing so far." Pidge said. "Keith's in the hangar now."

"Excellent." Allura said. "I'll wrap things up here and head to the rendezvous point."

"Copy that." Keith said. "Hopefully I'll wrap things up just as quickly."

"I should hope so." Pidge said. "Can't have the _princess _showing us up."

It was faint, but she could hear Keith's huff of laughter over the coms. She smiled, recalling a time where even that would have been difficult to get out of the newly minted red paladin. It was strange to think that it hadn't even been that long- this past month and a half had been so packed full of activity, that it felt as if it had been several months, not just shy of two. She could only imagine that it would get even busier soon- once Voltron found its footing, they would begin their assault on the forces of the Galra Empire.

And not a moment too soon, given the state of the universe.

Speaking of which... glancing around the hangar, she located a length of rope. Glancing towards the four unconscious figures laying on the hangar floor, she gave an icy smile.

Couldn't have them calling for help now, could she?

* * *

Alright, fine. He'd admit it. He'd missed this.

For all his protests, now that he was actually in the thick of things, he had to admit- it almost felt like old times again. Back when he and Pidge hadn't known anything about Voltron, or what the Red Lion actually was, but had just been spending their days breaking into Galra ships, stealing both intel and equipment alike.

Those had been good times.

"They're almost to you."

Unfolding his arms, Keith tilted his head, turning to look at the door. Twitching his ears, he faintly picked up on the sound of their footsteps. True to his size, the blocky alien didn't exactly walk quietly- he'd probably be able to hear him even if Haggar hadn't (fucked with) _improved _his hearing.

"Copy that, Pidge." Keith said, baring his teeth in a fierce grin, listening as the footsteps drew closer. Two bodyguards, plus his actual target. He'd already taken care of the pilot of his ship. No need to worry about him waking up anytime soon.

As the footsteps came to a halt in front of the hangar door, he unconsciously reached for his knife, only stopping when he remembered he hadn't brought it with him. It felt strange to be without it- it had become a familiar weight over the past year or so, even with all of its unanswered questions.

(Now some of those questions had been answered, but it's weight hadn't changed.)

"Keith, there's-"

Pidge's voice cut out, a blast of static so loud that he had to rip the earpiece out. It wasn't fast enough to stop his ears from ringing, but even over the feedback, he could hear the distinct sound of a head hitting something metal just outside the hangar doors. He tensed, recalling the way Pidge had sounded just before she'd been cut off. Her voice had been urgent, almost as if-

-almost as if she were issuing a warning.

The doors opened to admit someone who _definitely _wasn't his target.

* * *

"Keith? Keith, can you hear me?"

Swearing underneath her breath, Pidge tried to increase the frequency of the com line, but to no avail. The blockage had to be on Keith's end, whatever- and whoever- was doing it.

Actually scratch that whoever. She _knew _who the whoever was. Maybe not by name, but she'd definitely recognized them. Bringing up the last bit of video footage she had from that area before the cameras had gone offline, Pidge narrowed her eyes.

Guess they weren't the only ones who'd do anything to get that orb.

* * *

She was Galra.

Well, _part _Galra, at least. Those yellow sclera were pretty unmistakable, but he'd never seen a Galra with _horns _before. Not a full-blooded one, at least.

(She had _pupils_. He had to bite his tongue to keep down the wave of jealousy.)

The woman, who clearly had been expecting him as much as he'd expected her, froze at the sight of him, narrowing her eyes- the only visible feature underneath her mask. Her grip tightened around the item in her hand- the memory orb, no surprise there.

"Who are you?" She demanded. "Are you with them?"

"What, with the guys you left lying on the ground back there?" Keith asked, feeling vaguely offended. "No. But I've got some business with that orb you stole."

No point in lying. He'd never been very good at it anyways.

"Unfortunately," the woman's voice was calm, almost cool, as she continued to stare him down, "-that's something I can't give you."

Yeah, he had a feeling she'd say that.

Taking up a loose stance, Keith narrowed his eyes. "Wasn't asking."

She narrowed her eyes- her only moment of hesitation before she switched to the offensive. Lightning quick, she shoved the memory orb into the pouch hanging off her belt, charging him in the same movement. He barely got out of the way of her palm strike in time, ducking to the side to avoid it. Swiftly transitioning from a dodge to an attack of his own, Keith aimed his fist at the strange woman's jaw. She saw it coming, swiftly blocking it and taking hold of his wrist. He swore, his thick skull the only thing keeping him from seeing stars as she threw him over her shoulder. Groaning, he stumbled to his feet just in time to avoid another blow and strike out with one of his own. She probably hadn't expected him to recover so quickly, allowing him just enough contact with his counterattack to leave behind scratches on her right cheek.

Guess the claws Haggar had given him had some use after all.

The woman broke off, putting enough distance between them for a quick assessment of her injury. Seeing that as his chance, Keith lunged forward with a follow-up attack, but the woman was just a bit quicker, dodging and retaliating with a swift blow towards his head, courtesy of her knee. Blocking it with both his arms, Keith's feet slid backwards slightly, making him wish that the auction ship had floors with a little more traction.

Leave it to someone with Galra blood to be stronger than they looked.

Her blow blocked, the woman jumped backwards, resuming her stance almost effortlessly. Whoever she was, he was starting to doubt that she was a fellow pirate. Not when the way she fought made it seem like she'd had actual _training_.

God, he wished he had his knife right about now. Stupid no weapons policy.

Shifting on his heel, he closed the distance between them- but again, not fast enough. The woman nimbly moved out of the way, avoiding his kick and striking out with one of her own. Pivoting on his heel, he ducked underneath it, taking advantage of a momentary opening and grab it. The woman noticed a second too late- there was nothing she could do to avoid being thrown over his shoulder.

Keith smirked. Consider that repayment for earlier.

His smirk quickly faded, however, as instead of hitting the ground, she flipped mid-air and landed with ease. No sooner than had she landed, she was already lunging at him again, what looked to be a strike to the abdomen switching at the last moment to a strike to the chin. He just barely avoided it, stumbling backwards, only for her to press her advantage. She aimed her knee at his ribs this time, forcing him to block it with his arms. Ducking under a strike to the head, he leapt back, taking the chance to just _breathe_. He was pretty good in a fight, sure, but at this rate, he might actually _lose_.

Gritting his teeth, Keith fought the urge to growl. He couldn't let that happen. There had to be a way for him to turn this around. He just had to-

He sucked in a breath as the woman's fist struck his chin, a decisive _crack _ringing through the air that was followed by a bolt of pain. Staggering back, Keith placed a hand against his jaw, knowing instinctively that it was broken.

And just as instinctively, he _took_.

Letting out a gasp of breath, Keith fought to regain control, cutting off the flow of the woman's quintessence to his body even as he felt it sink in. It might have helped with his jaw, but it would be a cold day in hell before he resorted to using this ability.

A groan met his ears, his attention snapping back to his opponent. She was still shaking off the effects of having her quintessence drained so suddenly. He hesitated for a split second, something about taking advantage of her momentary lapse churning his gut, but he needed this opening. Clenching his fists, he resolved himself, closing the distance between the two of them to land a solid punch of his own, right in the gut.

"So," he gasped out, his jaw aching as he spoke, "-you ready to hand that orb over?"

She lifted her head, locking eyes with him. There was something in that gaze that made him feel like the monster everyone was trying to convince him he wasn't, but he held firm. It wasn't the first time someone had looked at him like that, and it definitely wouldn't be the last.

"This," she began, her voice having gone from cool to downright cold, "-isn't something for the likes of a _space pirate_."

With a jolt, he reached up for his mask. It was gone. He wondered when it had come off, before concluding it was probably when he'd been socked in the chin. Without it, there wasn't much to disguise him- there weren't exactly any other human-Galra hybrids out there, and his face was pretty recognizable. Dyed and braided hair by itself just wasn't going to cut it. It was no surprise that he might be recognized, especially by someone else with Galra blood.

But something told him that she'd recognized him as _more _than just a space pirate.

He fought down the panic that thought brought with it, forcing himself to breathe. No. If she worked for Haggar, he would have known by now. He wasn't her target- just the orb.

"Good thing," he finally said, "-it's not for me then."

The woman opened her mouth, just about to say something before the ship suddenly _rocked_. He stumbled, narrowly avoiding tripping over his feet. What-?

"Keith!"

Snapping his head up, Keith turned to stare behind him. "Allura? What are you-?"

He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before Allura had rushed past him, practically slamming herself into his opponent before she managed to regain her lost footing. He blinked, swearing for a moment that the Altean princess was twice as tall as she usual, before he realized she actually _was_\- large enough that not only was one hit enough to knock the woman off her feet, but to also knock her out completely.

Okay. Did not know she could do that.

"Shouldn't you be at the rendezvous point?" Keith asked, watching as Allura shrunk back down to her usual size. "Pidge said-"

"Surely you didn't expect me to just sit around after Pidge lost contact with you." Allura frowned, turning her head slightly to face him. "Especially not after Pidge told me that you might be in trouble."

Keith opened his mouth to reply to that, before he snapped it shut. Because yeah, that was kind of what he'd thought, actually. He was just sort of used to having to deal with this stuff on his own, that it had never crossed his mind that someone might be coming to help. If Shiro were here, he imagined this was where he would tell him that this was just part of what being in a team was all about. Everyone helped each other. And while yeah, he kind of knew that, it was just... well, he wasn't used to that logic applying to _him_.

"I... thanks?" He finally got out.

Allura smiled. "No thanks necessary. Is she the one with the memory orb?"

Keith nodded. "It's in her pouch."

Allura hummed, stooping down next to the woman's unconscious form and removing the memory orb from her pouch. For a split second her expression became unreadable, before she tucked the orb away and stood back up to look at him.

"So," Allura asked, tilting her head back down towards the woman, "-fellow pirate?"

"No idea." Keith shrugged. "We didn't exactly introduce ourselves."

"Fair enough." Allura said, before frowning slightly, taking a few steps forward, promptly invading his personal space. "Are you alright? Your words are just the slightest bit slurred."

"Broke my jaw." Keith admitted, placing a careful hand on it. It still stung when he touched it, but it was already starting to get better. "Nothing that won't heal on it's own."

Allura's frown deepened, clearly not caring for that answer. "If you like, we can arrange for some time in the pods."

"No," Keith said quickly, "-it's fine. I'm fine."

Allura narrowed her eyes, but eventually sighed. "If you say so."

Keith just nodded, grateful that she'd accepted it so easily. Something told him that probably wasn't an argument he could win.

"I've already arranged for Pidge to meet us here." Allura said, glancing towards the hangar's exit. "She should be here any second now."

Almost as if on cue, the hangar's protective shield dropped, the green lion emerging in a shimmer of light, dwarfing the shuttle that was already there. Keith couldn't help but grin, even as that sent a stab of pain through his jaw. With how fucked up he was, he should probably just be grateful he even _could _still feel pain.

"Your ride is here!" Pidge crowed over the green lion's intercom.

"Come on," Allura smiled, "-let's get back to the Castle."

"The faster we get off this ship, the better." Keith grumbled, pausing for a moment to glance down at the still unconscious woman. "What about her?"

"What about her?" Allura asked. "Surely you aren't suggesting we bring her with us."

Keith frowned, before shaking his head. Whoever she was, she probably wasn't with the Empire. Just sending one person to steal it in secret wasn't exactly their style.

"In that case," Allura said, "-let's go home."

Keith blinked, before slowly nodding.

Yeah. Home sounded good to him too.

* * *

"Here."

Keith paused, turning on his heel to glance back at Allura. She was holding out her hand, a familiar box in it.

"You're going to see Pidge, aren't you?" Allura asked. "In that case, she'll likely want this."

Briefly meeting the princess' eyes, he just as quickly looked away. The pain in them was too familiar, but it was the understanding that forced him to avert his gaze.

"Yeah," he said instead, reaching out to take the box, "-probably."

* * *

Once Keith left, Allura sighed.

Gazing down at the memory orb, she held it with great care. It looked so much like the ones they already had at the Castle, that for a moment, she entertained the thought that it might have originally come from there. She didn't put too much stock in it- the memory orbs they had on the Castle of Lions weren't particularly special.

But it was nice to hope.

"Now then," she said, studying the orb, "-let us find out what secrets you contain."

Locating the activation switch, she gave it a flick. For a moment, nothing happened, and her heart sank. She would have hated to go through all this trouble for a memory orb that didn't even have any information on it. Thankfully, after a tick of nothing, the orb flickered to life, displaying a flickering holoscreen that should have been a readout of the data contained within. However it would seem that while she was lucky enough to not have gotten an empty orb, it would seem that it wasn't free of problems.

For starters, the holoscreen flickered so badly that she couldn't read a single word.

Heaving a sigh, Allura switched the orb off. The hologram projector must have been broken. No wonder no one had seemed to know what was on it.

Still, it wasn't a total loss. Even if the orb's projector couldn't be fixed, they could always link it up to the main projector in the Castle's hologram room. From what little she could see, it didn't seem as if the data itself had been harmed- it had probably just been jostled around one too many times these past ten thousand years or so. There were a few like that within the Castle as well.

And even if the orb were empty, she could never deem the entire mission a loss. Not when it had taken the turn that it did.

Frowning, Allura stared in the direction Keith had gone. She hoped Pidge was alright. She knew that the newly minted green paladin was resilient, but that didn't mean she was immovable. That said, she also knew that Keith was likely a better choice to deliver the ring to her than she was. They were closer, as much as she had tried to bridge the gap between herself and the paladins these past few movements. She thought she'd done well, but...

...well, there was no replacing the kind of bond one forged while working together. She'd get there yet, of that she was certain, but it would take some time before she was anywhere near as close to Pidge as she was with Keith. They were like a little family- a family whose idea of a bonding activity was piracy, but a family nonetheless.

Truthfully, she was almost a bit jealous.

At least she still had Coran. It was an improvement from when she'd thought that she truly was the last Altean alive. But what she would _give _to have at least her father back...

...well, she could only hope that Pidge and Matt _could _get theirs back.

* * *

"So I hear you got your butt kicked."

"Thanks for the concern." Keith said dryly, coming up behind Pidge's chair. "You find anything yet?"

She hadn't bothered to look up when he entered, too busy scanning the data that was displayed on the green lion's various monitors. Since they were still moving away from the auction ship, it was a pretty fair guess that the green lion was largely piloting itself. He could feel it hum as he'd made his way through it, up towards the cockpit from the cargo hold where he and Allura had first boarded. It wouldn't be much longer until they reached the rendezvous point with the Castle, but it didn't surprise him that Pidge was already hard at work searching for answers.

He'd probably have to check to make sure she slept tonight. Unlike him, she actually needed it.

"Not yet." Pidge said. "Their encryption is pretty solid. Guess they care more about protecting their sources than they do their actual goods."

"Well, they probably just didn't expect anyone to be crazy enough to target them." Keith said. "Speaking of which, I think this is yours."

Pidge's fingers froze in the middle of typing, slowly looking up towards him. Though the dim light of the cockpit did much to disguise it, he could still tell how pale she was underneath her helmet. He bit his lip, opting not to say anything as she slowly reached out to take the ring box from him. When she opened it up, he turned his head so he couldn't see her expression.

There were some things that were just private.

"Thanks," Pidge said finally, "-for this."

"Hey," Keith shrugged, "-that's what family's for, right?"

Tilting her head back, Pidge _grinned_. "_Family_, huh?"

Keith just rolled his eyes, knocking against her helmet. "Shut up."

Pidge snickered, even as she snapped the ring box closed. He watched out of the corner of his eye as she set it in her lap, treating it with far more care than he'd seen her use with nearly anything else. Frowning, he turned away again, staring out the cockpit window as the Castle of Lions in the distance drew closer. The staff on the auction ship had probably realized that _something _had happened by now, but it would still be a little while before they could figure out exactly _what_. By the time they did, they would be long gone.

"Have you told Matt yet?" He asked.

"I was planning on telling him when we got back." Pidge said. "It didn't... it didn't feel right telling him over the coms."

"You know just because they have his ring doesn't mean-"

Pidge cut him off. "I know."

Snapping his mouth shut, Keith settled for leaning against Pidge's chair instead. He might not be able to say all the right things, but at the very least, he could be there.

He'd never been very good at comforting people anyways.

* * *

It didn't take her long to jolt back to awareness.

Groaning, she stumbled to her feet, gingerly touching her head where it had struck the ground. Taking a quick assessment of her surroundings, she rapidly recalled the events that had left her unconscious in the first place. Quickly checking her wrist computer, she allowed a slight sigh of relief when she had determined that not much time had passed- only a few doboshes.

Unfortunately, a few doboshes were all that her opponents needed to get away. She didn't even really need to check her pouch to know that the memory orb was gone, but she did anyways. Sure enough, it was.

Prince Lotor would not be pleased.

He wouldn't, but something told her that the information that she would bring back would more than make up for the loss of the Altean relic.

With that in mind, Acxa smiled.


	3. part three

And here we are, the last chapter! It's done! There's some slight teasers here about the next possible cosmic dust arc, but that probably won't be written for some time. I will say that it revolves around a certain Balmera, though! As always, thanks for reading, and thanks for sticking with me!

* * *

**so a princess and a pirate walk into a black market auction**

**part three**

* * *

"Oh princess, thank the ancients you're alright! I was so worried!"

Allura could only smile as Coran threw his arms around her almost as soon as she stepped off the green lion's landing ramp. She didn't have the heart to point out that she'd never been in any _real _danger, instead simply allowing the man to embrace her tightly. She knew he worried about her just the same.

She would too, if he were the one who went.

"I'm alright, Coran," she assured him, "-and more importantly, we were able to secure the memory orb."

"Why, that's wonderful news!" Coran beamed as he released her. "Were you able to find anything useful on it?"

"Actually-"

"Pidge!"

Anything she might have said was cut off as Matt raced up the ramp past her, all but scooping his sister up in his arms. She let out an indignant squeak, making a futile attempt to shove her brother away. Allura had to bite back a snort, the situation made doubly amusing because she was almost _positive _that she'd seen Pidge elbow Keith with a leering grin when Coran had done the same to her.

(Well. She doubted at his age that Coran would be able to pick her up, but still.)

"Let me go, you weirdo!" Pidge said. "I wasn't even _in _any danger!"

"Oh, you're not getting out of reunion hugs that easily, baby sis." Matt said, only seeming to hug her tighter.

Keith _did _snort, which was apparently the wrong response, given the end result was that he was dragged into what was now clearly a group hug. Allura hid her smile before anyone could notice, turning back to Coran- and taking a few extra steps _away _from the green lion, just in case Matt got any ideas on dragging _her _into his hugging frenzy as well.

"Unfortunately," Allura picked back up from where she had been interrupted, producing the memory orb from where she'd hidden it, "-it seems as if the holographic projector is broken. I do not believe it is beyond repair, however..."

"Ah, that would put a damper on things." Coran observed, thoughtfully stroking one end of his mustache. "But worry not, princess! I'm sure we can link it up to one of the Castle's projectors quite easily!"

"Do you think you can take care of that?" Allura asked. "I'd like to put some further distance between us and the auction ship, just in case our new friends decide to instigate a search of the area."

They'd left the Castle some distance away from the auction ship as precaution, but she'd feel a lot more comfortable once they had several systems worth of distance between them, rather than a mere handful of planets. Truthfully it wasn't actually the _auction _ship that she was concerned with, but rather, it was the woman who had been after the memory orb. Keith hadn't seemed to recognize her, but if she _was _a fellow pirate, then she'd rather not deal with any retribution from the rest of her crew.

"I suspect I can handle it." Coran said.

"Thank you." Handing the memory orb to him, Allura smiled. If anyone could fix it, he could.

"Think nothing of it! I just hope it was worth all the trouble. Although," he began, his gaze shifting towards Matt and Pidge, "-in a sense, your little escapade into piracy seems to have already proven its worth."

Turning on her heel to look towards the siblings herself, a soft smile settled over her features. Matt was holding the ring box as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

Perhaps it was.

"Yes," Allura smiled, "-I suppose it has."

* * *

"..._and _now we're hugging."

From where she was smushed against Matt's chest, he could hear Pidge laugh. "That's what you get for laughing, punk."

"Don't make group hugs sound like a punishment, Pidge." Matt chided her.

"Well it is the way _you _give them." Pidge grumbled, though Keith couldn't help but notice the way she'd ceased all resistance attempts.

He... honestly wasn't resisting that much either, come to think of it. He'd flinched at first when Matt had dragged him into the hug, but now he was just kind of... letting it happen.

(He still kept his hands to himself, just in case. Accidentally draining Shiro had been bad enough, but at least they had been _fighting_ at the time. He _never _wanted to do the same to Pidge and Matt.)

"Hush," Matt said, "-I'll have you know Keith happens to love my hugs."

"Uh, I do?" Keith asked, wondering when _that _was decided.

Letting out a fake sounding squawk of shock, Matt released them both. "Keith! How could you _say _something like that? I thought we were a family!"

"And families tell each other like it is," Pidge told him, patting her brother on his shoulder, "-now come on, let's give Keith some breathing room. I'm pretty sure he broke his jaw."

"It's fine. I'm pretty sure it's not broken anymore." Keith said. It still _stung_, but he was just going to ignore that. It would go away soon enough on its own. The green lion wasn't anywhere near as generous as Red, but she'd still given him a little.

There was always the healing pods, but... no. Just no.

"You know for someone with magic healing powers, you sure do get injured a lot." Matt observed. As much as he played it off like joke, he didn't miss the faint way the edge of his lips twitched downwards.

He chose to ignore that too, just because he wasn't entirely sure yet what to _do _with it. He was still stunned that they didn't think he was disgusting. It sure as heck was how _he _felt most of the time.

(Though lately... lately he'd been feeling like that a little less.)

"Being able to heal fast and being invulnerable aren't the same thing," he reminded Matt.

"He's got a point." Pidge said. "_Speaking _of invulnerable people, I think Terminator over there wants to talk to you."

"Ter-?" Keith began, before he looked up, meeting Shiro's eyes. "Oh."

"Very funny, Pidge." Shiro remarked dryly. "I'll have you know I'm only one-fourth robot."

"Eh, always room for improvement." Pidge shrugged.

Shiro just shook his head, before cracking a faint smile. "Think I can talk to my brother for a second?"

"I don't know, have we hashed out those custody rights yet?" Matt asked.

"What does that even _mean_?" Keith asked, narrowing his eyes.

"That's something for us big brothers to worry about." Matt said, patting his other shoulder- before giving him a light shove in Shiro's direction.

Stumbling forward a few steps, he shot the rebel a lighthearted glare before looking back towards Shiro. He laughed, wrapping his human arm around his shoulder.

His grip, Keith noticed, was a little tight.

"You okay?" Keith asked.

"I should be asking you that." Shiro said- and this time he let his concern slip into his voice. "You had me a little worried there. When we lost contact-"

"Oh," Keith frowned, his gaze dropping to his feet, "-um, sorry."

For all that he'd gotten a lot of experience with it lately, having so many people to worry over him still somehow felt totally new. With Shiro it was an old, familiar feeling, but there was still an edge to it that hadn't been there before, one that he recognized as being born out of their shared experiences.

(Or maybe it was something leftover from the time he'd disappeared. He didn't know. It wasn't something they'd talked about.)

"You don't have to apologize." Shiro assured him. "Just... maybe take it easy for the rest of the day. Okay?"

Keith frowned, but still nodded. Taking it easy had never exactly been in his wheelhouse, but he guessed he could try for Shiro's sake. He didn't like seeing him worried.

"Sure," Keith said, "-I was just planning on washing this purple out of my hair."

"I don't know, I think it's a good look on you." Shiro teased, ruffling his hair with his human hand. "Matches your spots. And your ears."

"Gee, thanks." Keith said dryly, elbowing his brother.

(Not that he minded. He'd _missed _this.)

Shiro laughed, but let him go. "I'll let you get to that then. But remember- take it easy. Don't make me lock you out of the training room."

"You can do that?" Keith asked- to which Shiro frowned in response. "Uh, I mean, I promise?"

"That's what I like to hear." Shiro said. "Now go on and get out of here before Lance gets here and sees how badly you messed up his hard work."

"And _whose _fault is that?" Keith asked, arching a brow.

The braids the blue paladin had begrudgingly put in his hair before they left were pretty much completely undone at this point. In the end, the disguise hadn't really mattered- nobody had paid them a second look, and he'd gone and blown his identity at the very end anyways. He... kind of hadn't mentioned that to Allura yet, but it was probably fine, right?

(Right?)

In response, Shiro just laughed. Shaking his head, Keith rolled his eyes with a slight huff. There was a hint of annoyance there, but it was the good kind- the kind he'd started to forget before he met Pidge.

_Speaking _of Pidge... glancing up in the direction of the Holt siblings, Keith's lips twitched downwards. They were deep in conversation, the ring box with their father's ring cradled carefully in Matt's hands. Something about the sight tugged at his heart, and for a second, he almost considered going over there.

But no. He shouldn't.

They might be family- _his _family- but this was something that was just for the two of them. He couldn't possibly interrupt.

* * *

Pidge was holding onto his sleeve.

She hadn't done that since she was small- well, small_er_. He couldn't even remember the last time she had, just that they'd both been way younger than they were now. She'd grown up fast since then- maybe a little _too _fast, especially in his absence.

"We got it," she said, "-we got dad's ring."

"I know," he said, "-I heard from Shiro."

He'd been standing right next to him when they'd gotten Allura's message. The news had elated him- but at the same time, it had just made the stone in his chest feel heavier. He kept turning the same two questions over and over in his head, but never got any closer to getting an answer.

How had they gotten dad's rang?

Where _was _dad?

He vaguely remembered being stripped of any belongings when they were first captured. He was pretty sure they would have taken dad's ring then. It made perfect sense, even if he hadn't actually seen it happen himself. There was no reason for him to think that just because they had his ring, that something had happened to him.

Well. Something _worse _than being captured by an evil space empire, that was.

But though he was at his core a creature of logic, he was also still very much a person with emotions, and right now those were _all _over the place.

And so, he could tell, were Pidge's.

"Do you think dad's-?"

"He's okay." Matt said firmly, ignoring the fact that he had no basis whatsoever for his claim. "One of the first things they did after capturing us was to strip us of all our belongings. His ring probably just got sold off by a low ranking officer or something. The Galra Empire probably doesn't pay well."

It at least _sounded _convincing when he said it, even if it didn't _feel _convincing. Probably nothing would until they saw him with their own eyes.

"You're probably right." Pidge said, releasing his sleeve.

He felt the absence of her hand sharply.

"Here," she said, producing a small box from her armor, "-you should probably be the one to hold onto it. I'm afraid it might get lost in my room."

In spite of himself, Matt couldn't help but laugh at that. They hadn't even been on the Castle of Lions that long, but Pidge had already turned her room into a pigsty. Granted, she already had a lot of stuff, what with her and Keith having lived out here for nearly a year, but still- the accumulation of mess was nonetheless impressive.

"Yeah, you're probably right about that." Matt said, carefully taking the ring box. It felt heavy in his hands. "Don't worry. I'll take good care of it."

Pidge smiled, before her expression faltered. "Do you think we should tell mom?"

"I think we kind of have to." Matt said. "She deserves to know."

Pidge wordlessly nodded, staring down at her feet. Heaving a sigh, Matt ruffled her hair, pointedly ignoring the indignant squawk it got him in response.

"But," he said, "-that can probably wait until tomorrow. We've had a long day."

"Please," Pidge rolled her eyes, swatting his hand away, "-this is _nothing _compared to the time Keith and I spent like _three days_ trying to shake a particularly keen Galra lieutenant off our tail. He would not give up!"

"Yeah?" Matt asked. "How'd you deal with that one?"

"Keith blew him up." Pidge said, imitating an explosion. "_Kaboom_."

Matt chuckled. "Yeah, that sounds like Keith."

"That's actually how we found out about the red lion's railgun." Pidge said, the gleam coming back to her eyes a welcome sight. "I wonder if the green lion has anything like that. I mean, it probably _does_, but Allura won't tell me anything. She said something about us needing to bond with our lions on our own."

"Well, she _is _the expert." Matt said. "Maybe you could ask Keith for some tips? I mean, _he _seems pretty bonded to his lion."

Pidge stared at him blankly. "You've never asked him for advice, have you?"

"...that bad, huh?" Matt asked.

"He sucks at it." Pidge said flatly. "Big time."

Laughing, Matt was just grateful to see his sister acting a little more like herself. The sleeve-grasping had been cute, but this Pidge was way better.

Tightening his grip on the ring box, he silently hoped this wasn't the last trace they found of their father. Both for Pidge's sake- and his own.

He wasn't sure he could take it if it was.

* * *

"..._and _everyone's already gone."

Lance heaved a sigh- though really, he'd kind of anticipated this. He and Hunk had stayed wisely silent while everything had been going on, but from the sound of it, a lot of stuff had happened on that auction ship. He kind of couldn't blame anyone for kind of forgetting about them in all the chaos. It wasn't like they'd had the chance to _do _anything.

Also Hunk had kind of gotten lost on his way to the green lion's hangar. So you know. There was that too.

"Whoops," Hunk said, shifting awkwardly on my feet, "-my bad. Thanks for coming to find me though."

"Hey, don't worry about it buddy." Lance grinned, patting his friend on the shoulder. "All these hallways look the same. You'd think an advanced alien race would be a little more into interior decorating."

"I guess they're more into minimalism." Hunk said.

"Great," Lance said, "-like I didn't get enough of _that _back at the Garrison."

Hunk laughed, and Lance forgot all about missing his chance to talk to the princess. It wasn't like they didn't live on the same ship now or anything. He'd have plenty of chances to run into her- not to mention maybe impress her a little too while he was at it.

And hey, who knew? Maybe next time, _he'd _be the one to shine.

"Come on," he said to Hunk, "-let's go see if we can figure out how that Altean oven works."

"You know, if it _is _an oven." Hunk said.

"...yeah, we should probably find that out first."

* * *

"I take it your mission went well?"

She barely so much as spared a glance at Thace as she made her way towards the bridge's central platform, the control pillars rising up in response to her presence. After Sendak had nearly taken the Castle, they'd keyed the controls to her biological signature, so that something like that could never happen again.

(Coran had the code to unlock it, of course. She didn't want to risk leaving the Castle stranded in the event of an emergency.)

"There were a few minor hiccups," she told him, "-but nothing we were unable to handle."

Thace simply hummed, returning to his work. She'd given him the task of updating as much of the Castle's outdated records as possible- they _were _ten thousand years out of date, after all. It was a long and tedious task, but the Blade had never once complained, spending whatever spare moment he could on it.

_Speaking _of the Blade...

Allura paused, her hands hovering just over the command pillars. "I take it your report went well?"

She had decided to trust Thace and Ulaz, and by extension, the Blade of Marmora, but if she were being perfectly honest, she'd really rather prefer knowing exactly who it was they were dealing with and how to contact them directly. It wasn't as if she couldn't understand the reason behind all the secrecy, and yet it still didn't sit well with the part of her that struggled with the idea of trusting the Galra again.

(She wanted to. But it just wasn't that simple.)

"Well enough." Thace said. "There has been talk of getting a new agent into Central Command, but there's been no movement as of yet."

And that was all he was going to say on the matter, Allura determined. Heaving the faintest of sighs, she instead concentrated on the task at hand. Putting in coordinates for a system quite a distance away from their current location, she initiated a wormhole jump. It went smoothly, and only then did she allow herself to fully relax.

No one could follow them now.

(She'd put them all at risk by not moving the Castle after they obtained the yellow lion. She would _not _make that same mistake again.)

Just as she was about to ask Thace how far he'd gotten on the archive updates, the bridge door slid open. Turning to look, she was surprised to see it was Coran. She would have thought the broken memory orb would have kept him busy for at least awhile longer.

"Coran?" She asked. "Is something the matter?"

"I think," he began, the expression on his face unreadable, "-that you should come see this for yourself, princess."

* * *

Coran's pace was awfully quick. She had to hurry just to catch up with him. Whatever was on that orb had to have been considerable, if it was causing _this _reaction.

"Coran?" She asked once they boarded the elevator, almost hesitant. "What was it that you wanted to show me?"

For a brief tick, she almost didn't think he would respond. He selected the floor the hologram room was located on, and only then did he finally look up at her. She was relieved to see that his expression wasn't anywhere near as dire as she feared it might be. Still, she couldn't relax completely- not given the urgency of his tone.

"It's about the orb you retrieved." Coran said, as if it could be about anything else. "Turns out there's a reason why you couldn't get its holographic projector to work."

"I thought it was simply broken." Allura frowned.

"Ah, but broken on purpose." Coran said. "You see, it was designed to work only with the Castle."

Allura felt her heartbeat quicken. "With the Castle?"

That had to mean it was fairly recent- or at least, it would have been ten thousand deca-phoebs ago. The Castle of Lions had only been built six hundred deca-phoebs prior to the start of the war, so anything designed to work with it must have come from that time period.

But that was strange- she would have thought that any such devices would have still been in the Castle. How in the world had one gotten into the hands of a black market dealer? According to the Castle's logs, no one had set foot in here since her father had sent the ship away. And surely _more _would have been taken if that were the case. Pirates weren't exactly the type known to hold back.

No offense to the pirates in their midst, of course.

"Yes." Coran said. "Like I said, it's really something you should see for yourself."

Allura frowned, but she trusted Coran. Following him off the elevator and into the hologram room, she eyed the orb set on the central pedestal with mild suspicion. It glowed, though its dim light did little to illuminate the dark room, much too small of a light source for such a vast, empty space.

She remembered the first time her father had taken her down here. She'd fallen ill and had missed the rare solar eclipse that she had been looking forward to because of it. She'd been so upset that she'd been almost inconsolable- at least, until her father had guided her by the hand down to this very room, performing a magic spell to turn back time and show her the event she had missed.

In reality, he had merely played back a recording of the event, but that was how it had felt to her at the time. In her defense, she'd been very young.

"So?" She asked. "What is it that I needed to see?"

Coran simply smiled, activating the room. The darkness melted away before her very eyes, as the scene transformed into one that was almost heartrendingly familiar. Her eyes went wide, turning on her heel as she watched as a field of flowers bloomed where there had been nothing but cold metal, blue skies taking the place of dim Castle lights.

"A juniberry field," she breathed, "-Coran, it's _wonderful_."

"Ah, but that's not all, princess." Coran said. She looked towards him in question, but he merely pointed behind her.

Frowning, Allura turned on her heel, wondering what else he could possibly have to show her. Surely there couldn't be-

Oh.

_Oh_.

Allura's hands flew to her mouth, not daring to believe her eyes. This _was _the hologram room, after all, and simply because the man whose image had appeared before her looked like him, it didn't mean-

"_Allura_."

-it _was _him.

"Father!"

Dropping her hands, Allura raced forward, all grace momentarily forgotten. It took everything she had to not throw her arms around the man. Because while this was unmistakably her father- or some form of him, he was also a hologram. There was nothing solid for her to grasp onto, no matter how desperately she wished for there to be.

"Allura, my dear daughter," there was a sad edge her father's smile, as if he had realized the same thing she did, "-how I've missed you so."

"I've missed you too, father." Allura admitted. "But I don't understand. How are you here?"

"King Alfor knew there was a chance he might never see you again." Coran said, the sound of his voice almost causing her to jump. She'd nearly forgotten he was here. "So before he left to face Zarkon, he recorded his memories into one of the Castle's orbs."

"I placed it in the same location as I left your cryopod," her father's hologram explained, "-though according to Coran, that was a bit of a mistake on my part. I must apologize. I thought that should the worst happen, keeping you separate from the Castle would help protect you, but it seems as if erred in my judgement."

"No," Allura shook her head, "-it is because of that, that I was able to meet two of the new paladins."

"Whoever it was that found your pod must have thought your father's memory orb wasn't anything important." Coran mused. "We'll have to wait until Pidge has analyzed the data from the auction ship to confirm it, but I suspect they simply thought of it as a way to gain a few extra GAC."

"Or perhaps they didn't notice it at all, and someone else came along later." Allura mused. "Either way, it is truly fortunate that we found it again."

Looking up at her father's hologram, Allura's gaze softened. It was nowhere near the same as having the man himself back, but even this was more than she could have ever asked for. It was as if she'd gained back a piece of home.

And it wouldn't have been possible if not for her paladins.

"So," her father's hologram smiled, "-Coran tells me that you were able to reform Voltron. I could not be more proud of you, Allura."

"I was only able to do it because I had help." Allura freely admitted.

"So Coran tells me." Alfor said. "Why not tell me about them?"

She opened her mouth, about to reply, when Coran cleared his throat. Peering over her shoulder at the older man, he gave her a knowing smile.

"I think it best if I left the two of you alone for awhile." Coran said. "But I'll be right outside should you need me, princess."

"Of course," she said, "-and thank you."

"Ah, princess," he said, "-you never have to thank me for anything."

She could only nod, any words she might have said choked up in her throat. Coran merely turned to look towards her father's hologram, offering his once-King and always friend a formal bow before he left.

"So," her father began once Coran was gone, "-who _is _this Pidge?"

Allura smiled. There was so much to tell, and much of it, at least in hindsight, was rather amusing. And what wasn't... well, there was no better person to discuss it all with than her father.

"I think," she began, taking a seat amongst the juniberry blossoms, "-that I should start at the beginning."

* * *

"Space pirates?" Alfor asked. "The green and red paladins are _space pirates_?"

"Yes," Allura said, the edge of her lip twitching upwards with amusement, "-and quite infamous ones at that."

"Space pirates," Alfor muttered, his voice caught somewhere between shock and wonder, with just a touch of horror sprinkled in, "-my lion is being flown by a _space pirate_."

"Not only that," Allura said, "-but he also stole it back from Zarkon himself."

"Ah," Alfor's brow raised, "-in that case, I think I might actually like this fellow. You said his name was Keith?"

* * *

"She _asked _him to abduct her?"

"Apparently." Allura said. "Although from the way she tells it, she didn't quite expect his ship to be a Voltron lion. Though apparently neither of them even knew what a Voltron lion _was _until one of the rebels told them."

"They didn't know?" Alfor asked in disbelief. "Even though one was already a paladin?"

"In their defense," Allura said, "-they _do _come from a rather backwater planet."

Alfor frowned, puzzled. "I thought you said that the new red paladin was part Galra?"

"He is." Allura said. "But his other half comes from Earth."

"The same planet the green paladin is from?" Alfor asked.

"The very same." Allura said.

"Hm," her father mused, stroking his beard, "-what an odd coincidence."

Allura just smiled to herself. She wasn't about to spoil the rest of the story.

* * *

"-and then they accidentally kidnapped me."

Ah, she thought as she heard her father laugh, how she'd missed that sound.

* * *

"He sold you out?"

"Yes!" Allura exclaimed. "Can you believe it? And after we paid him and everything!"

"That _is _a black market dealer for you." Alfor said. "Have I ever told you about the time Coran got tricked out of three quarters of a shipment of lango?"

"For a used pogo oscillator?" Allura asked, vividly recalling that tale. "Oh yes. I remember."

* * *

"I must apologize."

Allura paused mid-story, looking up at her father's hologram with a frown. "Whatever for?"

"I never should have separated you from the Castle." Alfor said. "You should have been able to reunite with Coran as soon as you awoke. Even worse, you were nearly put in danger because of my mistake. If Zarkon had gotten his hands on you..."

Closing her mouth, Allura stared down at her hands. It was true that at times, she had questioned why her father had chosen to separate her from the Castle. But at the same time, what she had told him earlier still rang true- if it had not been for his choice, who was to say if she would have _ever _awoken? Perhaps fate would have guided the paladins to her in a different way, but she could not be sure.

"We reunited eventually," Allura said, "-and I was saved before the worst could happen. That's all that really matters."

Her father didn't look convinced, but he didn't interrupt her again.

* * *

"Wait," her father frowned, "-I thought you said Earth was where the red and green paladins were from."

"It is." Allura said. "It's also where the blue lion was hidden."

"Well," Alfor said, his amusement audible, "-the coincidence grows."

With a twinkle of unshared knowledge in her eyes, Allura picked her story back up. _Coincidence_ indeed.

* * *

"You mean to tell me that the blue paladin was on Earth as well?" Alfor asked. "And that he'd already found the lion?"

"Yes," Allura said, "-that is what I mean to say exactly."

"Hm," Alfor hummed, "-perhaps not a coincidence after all, then."

* * *

"And the yellow, too! It would seem that fate guided you well, daughter!" Alfor exclaimed, letting out a loud laugh. "Though I must say, this _Hunk _sounds exactly like the kind of lad Gyrgan would like."

"And I'm positive Blaytz would get along _swimmingly _with Lance." Allura said, smiling, albeit sadly, at the image. "They even make the same jokes."

"Ah, Blaytz." Alfor said, thoughtfully stroking his beard. "Trigel always hated those jokes, and Zarkon never understood them. He always said-."

Her father cut himself off, as if he'd realized what he'd said.

"I apologize," Alfor said, "-I didn't mean to bring him up."

Allura shook her head. She knew how difficult the subject of Zarkon's betrayal must be for her father. He had been his friend and ally for much longer than just the short time they'd spent together as paladins, and far longer than she'd been alive. To hear that he was still waging war on the universe must have devastated him.

She knew without having to ask that he'd hoped for better.

"Well," Allura finally began, unable and unwilling to let the painful silence linger for much longer, "-you could almost say finding the yellow paladin so easily was where our streak of luck ended. You see, it turns out the Galra Empire was waiting. They-"

* * *

Her father listened to the rest of her tale with a grave expression on his face.

She could hardly blame him. Nearly everything that had happened after they obtained the yellow lion was less than pleasant. Finding out that Shiro was the black paladin and freeing him from Haggar's control was really one of the only bright spots.

That, and the arrival of their new Galra allies, she supposed.

"So this... Blade of Marmora fights _against _Zarkon?" Alfor questioned.

"Yes," Allura said, "-I found it a bit hard to believe myself at first, but they seem trustworthy."

"If you believe they are, then I trust your judgement, daughter." Alfor said. "You were right about the lions, in the end. I never should have sent them away."

Allura swallowed, a knot forming in her throat. Thinking of that day was still painful. She imagined it always would be, no matter how much time passed.

"I promise," she began, "-that I will do whatever I can to make things right. The universe has waited long enough."

"I know you will, daughter." Alfor said. "I have known since the day you were born that you were destined for great things. I only wish I could have lived to see them."

Her father's hologram smiled, but it was a sad one, laced with regret. She wished she could say something, anything to bring him even a moment's comfort, but she knew that any words she might choose would only ring shallow.

After all, this wasn't _really _her father- only an echo of his memory. A digital ghost of a man that once was.

Nevertheless, it was one whose existence she deeply appreciated.

"There is... something else, actually." Allura said after a moment's hesitation. "Zarkon's witch, she is... she's Altean."

"I know," her father said, closing his eyes, "-I have every reason to believe that she is Honerva, transformed by the same power that so corrupted Zarkon."

Something in Allura's gut twisted at the confirmation, even though she had already suspected it. She'd never known Zarkon's Altean wife especially well- she'd always been too wrapped up in her research to socialize on the few rare occasions she went with her father to Daibazaal to visit. But what she did know about her was that she had been one of the most foremost alchemists of her time. Only her father had been considered her better.

And if she was the one who had done _that _to Keith... then what chance did she stand of undoing it?

"I sense something else is on your mind."

Looking up at her father's hologram, Allura frowned. "Haggar, she... she did something awful to one of the paladins."

"The one called Shiro?" Alfor questioned. "I thought you said you solved that problem already."

"I did, yes," Allura said, "-but he wasn't the only paladin she experimented on."

"Keith, then." Alfor guessed. "You said he used to be a prisoner too."

Allura nodded. "According to the Blades, she's been attempting to create a device that would allow her to drain the quintessence from planets directly, something called a _komar_. In order to test her theories, she... she did something horrible."

"I think I understand." Alfor said. "Unfortunately I am not sure there is much I can do. I am little more than a memory. All I can do is guide you."

"I know." Allura said, looking down at her hands. "This is something I must solve myself. Only... only I have no idea where to even _begin_."

Her father was silent for a long moment, before his entire form flickered, his hologram now appearing in a crouched position. "Have confidence in yourself, Allura. You possess a rare gift, more so than I ever did. It was that same power that helped you locate the green lion even without the Castle. If anyone can help your friend, you can."

Allura looked up at him, for all the world feeling like a little child again. "Do you really believe that?"

"I do," her father said, "-I always have."

She smiled, trying to take heart in those words. "Thank you."

Her father smiled, for a brief moment looking almost as if he wanted to reach out- before he realized he couldn't. Instead, his hologram flickered as it returned to a standing position, the juniberries that surrounded them growing a touch blurrier. Sensing the end of their time was near, she reluctantly rose to her feet.

She wished it could be longer. There was still so much she had to tell him.

"When you need me," he said, as if sensing her thoughts, "-I will be right here for you, daughter."

"Thank you, father." Allura did her best to smile. "I love you."

"And I you."

His hologram flickered again, before it faded completely. The field of juniberries lingered for a tick longer, before it too faded into nothingness, leaving behind nothing but a dark, empty room and a heart that ached with a new kind of loneliness.

Then she exhaled, remembering that she was far from alone.

She had Coran. She had her paladins.

She had to believe that was enough.

* * *

"So no more purple hair?"

"No more purple." Keith echoed, glancing over at Pidge. He hadn't expected to run into her right outside of the shower room. "How long were you waiting there?"

"Just got here." Pidge shrugged.

Keith hummed, pulling the towel off his head and giving his hair a good shake. Pidge made a face, scrambling to get out of the way before she got splattered. Chuckling, he let the towel hang over his shoulders in a likely futile attempt to keep his shirt from getting too damp, before folding his arms in front of his chest.

"So what is it?" He asked, cocking his head to one side.

"Nothing," Pidge said, "-can't I just lurk around the showers for no reason?"

Keith just arched a brow.

"...yeah, okay, that sounds bad when I say it out loud." Pidge admitted.

"Glad you realize it." Keith said. "So?"

"We're going to tell mom about dad's ring tomorrow." Pidge said. "I'd... like it if you were there."

"Okay."

"-I mean, you don't have to be, but- wait, what?" Pidge frowned, looking up at him. "Did you say okay?"

"Sure," Keith shrugged, "-why wouldn't I?"

He didn't see any reason to refuse. It wasn't something that he would have invited himself to, but if he was being invited, then that was a different story.

"I-" Pidge opened her mouth, only to shut it again, "-okay. Glad we had this talk."

"Me too." Keith said. "So, you crack that code yet?"

"Not yet." Pidge said. "I was just about to tackle that. You want to help?"

_Help _in this instance meant hanging around and letting Pidge vent her frustrations in his general direction. Pidge had tried to teach him a thing or two about coding, but she'd lost him almost immediately.

"Sure," Keith said, "-Shiro says I should take it easy anyways."

"Take it easy?" Pidge asked, a brow shooting up. "Does he even _know _you?"

"He remains optimistic." Keith said.

Pidge laughed. If he looked at her, he could still see the worry etched into the corner of her eyes, but it was back to being just shadows.

Good. It was better that way.

* * *

"So who _was _that lady who kicked your ass anyways?"

"Don't know," Keith said, "-probably just another pirate or something. And she didn't kick my ass."

"Yeah, she kind of did." Pidge said, walking backwards just so he could see her cheeky grin. "But don't worry. _I _still think you're tough."

Keith frowned, scrunching up his nose. "Are _all _little sisters supposed to be this annoying?"

"Only the really good ones."

"_Ugh_."

* * *

Elsewhere in the universe, Acxa knelt, a fist raised over her heart in salute. She knew that her prince would be unhappy with her failure on the auction ship, but she also knew just as well that the information she was bringing him would more than make up for it.

Even if she didn't, she would still have nothing to fear. Prince Lotor at his most disappointed was still noble. He would never harm her.

"I have something to report."


End file.
